Official Plot Synopsis For MAN OF STEEL Surfaces!

Thanks to an extras casting notice circulating around Vancouver (and obtained by the rascals at ComicBookMovie), we now know the basic plot of Zack Snyder's MAN OF STEEL! And it's exactly what we thought it was!

In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time. Clark Kent/Kal-El (Cavill) is a young twentysomething journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond anyone's imagination. Transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, Clark struggles with the ultimate question - Why am I here? Shaped by the values of his adoptive parents Martha (Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Costner), Clark soon discovers that having super abilities means making very difficult decisions. But when the world needs stability the most, it comes under attack. Will his abilities be used to maintain peace or ultimately used to divide and conquer? Clark must become the hero known as "Superman," not only to shine as the world's last beacon of hope but to protect the ones he loves.

This is probably the least controversial piece of news to come out of this production. Or is there something to get super pissed off about here that I'm not seeing?

Superman can be a metaphor for the ultimate weapon. A doomsday machine in the form of a goody-two-shoed nerd. In a militarized, zero-sum world, Superman is the biggest baddest warhead. <p>
This film might be able to do what Superman IV: Quest for Peace wasn't able to do. Snyder definitely loves those themes, as can be seen by the WatchMen film....but whether he can make it work remains to be seen....

First off, let me just say I am paranoid about Supes. We discussed it in our last podcast, and will probably talk about it this time, but I just know they are going to mess it up again.
First thing: "Transported from Krypton, an Advanced Alien Planet"? Really? I know it might not be what it sounds like, but it sounds like in this universe Krypton still exists. Otherwise, it would say "His parents sent him to earth while Krypton exploded" or something. Basically, Krypton is a blown up planet, unless it still exists in this timeline.
Second thing: This sounds like a Superboy reboot, not Superman. A twentysomething journalist... I don't know, that just scares me. I want to see a 40 something Superman who is fighting Metallo, Doomsday, and yes even Bizzaro. I don't want to see a 20 year old superman unless the Legion is involved somehow.

The only thing "new" is the red trunks are gone from the costume and a black Perry White.
Maybe Warner Bros. should lose the Superman rights since they can't do anything interesting with him in the comics or rebooted movie.

The things that made Superman awesome in the original movies was the way people perceived him. The way the crowds would clap and smile at him. He was a real hero.
The problem with all of the new superhero movies are that no one is in awe, no one feels like they are being saved by someone just wanting to help. It's all flashy lights and bad guys.
Just give us heart and we may make it through this one.

Ten years. Smallville was on for ten years. This synopsis sounds like a recap of the last few seasons of the show. It's been done already, and very well. Good storytelling needs to come of an established character and the challenges he faces, not retreating to the safety of the origin story. Case in point, Superman Returns hit the ground running but got caught up in its own cape because the script was a steaming pile of cow dung, metaphorically speaking.

That's pretty much as generic a description for what the character of the comic books is. I don't see the big deal. Of course, this being a lackadaisical blog and not a Pulitzer-winning news resource, I guess it's cool?

actually, that sounds interesting because beyond the WB cartoon, most Superman iterations onscreen haven't asked that question. Plenty of comics have, though. It's that line between heroism and fascism. Let's hope Snyder can explore that with more subtlety than he did in 300.

Seeing Clark become Superman without all the "Blur" nonsense would be a treat. (Similar to It's Superman!) Also, Kingdom Come dealt with the issue of Superman's potential fascism. This could be a mash up of some of his best pulp stories.
Just sayin'

Maybe I'm old. I dunno.
Why do we keep rebooting these things again? I feel like this generation of kids is going to be totally fucked up because they'll have no idea who Superman, Spider-man, or the Hulk is. 'He's that guy' 'No wait, he's that guy'... 'I think I hear voices...' 'OMG which lunchbox do I take to school?' 'Wait. What's a lunchbox?' ... "WHO. AM. I?' D: *psychotic break*

Or a cloud of alien spacecraft, etc... something physical for Superman to fight. It has to be Brainiac... he could jump from robot body to robot body. Maybe Lex could take out Brainiac's mothership like in Red Son...

Every Superman movie has been boring dredge. Non-exciting, slow-moving bullshit. The only way I can see Superman being good is by making him an all-out action hero; not a troubled boy torn between normality and superpowers. If you need more than ten seconds to make that decision, you are the shittiest wannabe superhero ever.

"I don't know whose reason it is, or whatever the reason... maybe it's... I don't know.... but I do know one thing: it's not to score touchdowns."
They're never going to do it better than that scene right there.

I have faith in Nolan's producing abilities.
Also the fact that there are two Army Generals being played by known actors is a great sign. Superman 2 touched on military vs. supervillians but the special effects were laughable.
It's 2011 now so I am hoping for some serious fucking tank pwnage.

I was more referring to him lending his name to the project as producer. Seems to me he wouldn't want to be involved in something that is shit.
Then again, Snyder is directing.
I guess I'm just trying to stay optimistic. I mean.. 300 and Watchmen were both pretty good.

How the hell is he going to feed the hungry of the world? Do you know how many people that is?
That Coriolanus trailer was hawt. Let this be a lesson to you guys, especially you youngins. Even though Gerard Butler is technically better looking, Ralph Fiennes is 100 times sexier. Even when he has no nose. So don't ever look in the mirror and give up even if you appear rather geeky. Just walk the walk and talk the talk, and ye shall prevail. :D

I swear to god if Clark spends the first fucking hour of this movie moping around wondering whether he should or shouldn't become Superman I am going to pull a Stewie Griffin and leave the theater, catch a cab to the airport, buy a ticket, get on a plane, fly to L.A., take a cab to Snyder's house, ring the doorbell, and punch him in the fucking nose when he answers the door.

I, for one, really liked Routh. And I'm not getting over it. Ever. I thought he was great. Better than Reeve even. It's not his fault everyone else lost their minds with bastard children and villainous land masses.

Funny how the most recognized and revered superhero in history apparently requires another origin movie. Can't you just imagine all the head-scratchin' confusion in the theater if the movie kicked off with a balls-out action sequence featuring Superman fighting instead?

You have a pretty liberal definition of "plot synopsis". List of major themes? Sure. But that's not much of a plot.
Sweet mother... what if this movie is just Superman versus himself? Ugh. I really wanted to see Brainiac or someone cool as the antagonist. Metallo ... or even the Parasite.

trying to feed the hungry with the leftovers of the civilized world is not a solution.
instead with his godlike powers he could control the global weather and geology of earth and turn deserts and arid regions into lush croplands and
rich pastures for animals to feed.
THEN he could teach to the hungry,with the help of other people,how to cultivate their prosperous lands and breed animals for their meat,milk,leather and wool.
And he doesnt have to stop there.The underground around the world hides a lot of worth raw materials.He can use his super-powers to help the poor people extract them without any kind of difficulty,and use them as the foundation to develop and modernize the infrastructure of their poor countries.
And when USA or EUROPE will come after their countries to steal their oil,diamonds,lands etc then Superman can kick their butts.because he can do it and there is nobody who can stop him.
If you can save Earth from cosmic,universal disasters but you are incapable of solving the most important problems of the humankind,then you dont deserve to be called a super-hero.

Sorry, couldn't resist.
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But truthfully, Superman could fix all of our problems, but then what? Would you want to read a comic about him solving such problems until the world no longer resembles ours, and after he has fixed everything would you want to read about a magical Utopia where everything is perfect?
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In the Golden Age they had Superman arrest Hitler and Stalin. Yet that was only in the comics; in the real world Hitler and Stalin were still engaged in a very bloody war (one America was soon to join). The writers soon realized that Superman couldn't solve the real problems of the world because they were just that, real problems. If he did try it made him look ineffective because he has no control over actual reality. Better to have him take on metaphors for real world dilemmas.
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Besides I don't think you should expect so much from a wish fulfillment and power fantasy character in a bright blue and red costume with a cape. You might as well be asking for Sherlock Holmes to use his powers of deduction to cure diseases or Caspar the Friendly Ghost to answer questions about God and the Afterlife. You're just asking for a little too much from the character who was meant to entertain and thrill.

C'mon, no more origins, start with Superman lifting the Eiffel tower and throwing it at King Kong. Or drinking the Atlantic Ocean and pissing on a falling star. Just 90 minutes of non stop shit like that, and then he puts on his suit and eyeglasses then takes Lois to the Olive Garden in his chevy. How hard can this be?

Sounds like he becomes a reporter before he becomes Superman. Isn't Clark supposed to be an act so he can be Superman without being raising suspicion.
The plot doesn't sound like it is going with that origin, and it sounds more like Smallville's origin.

he could use his super strength to lift gigantic boxes full of birth control to the people who keep having starving babies. There's always that.
Seriously, this is why they fucked up Superman Returns. Trying to come up with something new. Is it really that difficult to have a villain threaten a bunch of people's lives with a weapon? That's not scary at all anymore? No I guess we have to have him fight mortgage lenders or climate change. Pfft.
Remember Captain America from a few weeks back? Remember how great is was? Who was the villain? Oh yeah Red Skull and some of his Nazi friends. It's not like anyone ever fought Nazis in a movie before. Or a freaky villain with a super dangerous weapon. That never happens. That's why it was so great because it was so NEW and DIFFERENT.
If they have to make this movie, the people who are suggesting it just start with Superman being super by kicking ass for truth, justice, and the American way are right.

Mwuahahahahaha
Seriously though ...He's trying to "find" himself?
You know what that means ...only his ultra-conservative parents and workaholic, shallow, city girl Lois can guide him in the right direction!
Maybe they'll even help him into his costume...
This sounds like they're combining the origin of SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE with the plot of SUPERMAN II.
Sounds good on paper, but, with Snyder at the helm and Hollywood's obsession with 3-D, cgi, and motion-capture, I'm not really excited for this.

Along with this bare bones synopsis can only lead me to believe this will be closer to Earth one than anything else. Add to it the fact tha Hack Snyder will be throwing in his retarded slo mo front kicks, and the fact that Cavill has all the Charisma of a block of wood in the immortals trailer, and I'm glad the fucking world is ending in 2012 so I won't have to see my favorite superhero done this way. Fuck you Hollywood fir always looking for the dollar sign-and I'm gonna say it-fyck you Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, and Davud Goyer for openly admitting that you wrote a screenplay fir a character you hate and allowing the lowest common denominator of stylized action directors to make it. For fuck's sake-there us 73 years of canon to go off of to do this right, all of a sudden Sbyder thinks he can just change Ut and make Ut cooler? "I know, let's put the spit curl on Clark instead of Supes, and give him armor. Also, instead if making him a bright shining beacon if hope in a dark world, let's mute the shut out if his colors si he looks gritty and edgy-it works for Batman. Oh, and who's a big name? Amy Adans? Yeah-GET HER, that'll draw in other demographics-and get Costner fir the moms-they love his ass. Don't worry WB, I Hack Snyder will deliver you the coolest 3 minute superman trailer in history! It should get you a couple million bucks the first weekend-one more financial windfall off the corpse of an American icon for you before you lose the rights and a studio with some balls and respect for the canon can take over! Oh, who do I hot for superman? Some British kid that wasn't good enough for Singer's piece of shit, but good enough for me-besides, he's cheap and the tween girls will love him, that'll fill that demo too-ya know, since we couldn't get the pattinson kid? Don't worry WB-if there's one thing I, hack Snyder, know how to do-it's deliver a big opening weekend, and really, who needs a story or a goofd thespian when I have a green screen?! MOVIES!!!"
So anyway, I was saying, I'd like to extend a sincere go fuck yourself to everybody from the top WB execs, to the Nolans, this overhyped(and still superbly wrong)cast, the director, and all of the 13 year old fucks who are too young to understand what Superman means to the real fans and who will go pay money to see this, thus justifying Snyder's continuing abomination of a career. I dint wish harm on anybody, but if a plane crash or construction accident should befall the director or actors in this film and halt it's production, I will find comfort in the fact that my memory and image of the character will be preserved...

Sorry fir the long winded rant, I don't normally do that, but this whole film has my panties in a bind. Sadly, it could end up being the best superman film to date and I'll still hate it, simply because I disagree with every part of the process so far-not that I know what the hell I'm doing when it comes to maki g movies. I'm just a fan with certain perceptions, a sad fan who knows the film I deserve-that WE deserve, will, sadly, never come to us in this modern era of Hollywood greed...
Again, rant over, I apologize

I love your name, because I love Trading Places (always have). But this is not a plot synopsis. It tells us nothing.
Anyway, you heard it here first - this film is going to be *alright*. Most people will prefer it to Superman Returns, but it won't knock the original off its perch. As for money, it will take around £800m.
That is all.

The origin hasn't been told reinterpreted for the big screen in over thirty years. Superman Returns doesn't count, not one bit. It was the donnerverse with a new shiny makeover, not even close to being a reinterpretation. I'm excited to see what a visual powerhouse like Snyder can do with Smallville, Metropolis, and especially Krypton. And with a story thought up by the folks behind the AWESOME Batflicks? Yeah. Excited.
Suck on that you fat snobby virgin nerds.

...and at least it's not re-treading old ground.
Never having watched Smallville, I quite like the idea of exploring what it means to have super powers.
That was an idea never really explored in Richard Donner's version when we saw Clark Kent go into the Fortress Of Solitude and emerge 10 years later as Superman.

Alienated? Used to divide and conquer? Sounds like they're trying really hard to shoehorn some angst into the character (Emo, as someone else wrote) but sounds like they're fucking it all up, Anakin Skywalker style.
Firstly, I don't get how he would be alienated. How could it be since he looks like one of us? No one is going to point fingers that he's an alien, (It's not like he's got pointy Vulcan ears) he just has to not use the powers in public. And when he does use his superpowers he fucking LOVES it. Who wouldn't revel in the act of flying at super speed and having invulnerability and super strength?
Secondly, he has to make a hard decision to become a superhero? This should be a no-brainer for him. After all, didn't Ma and Pa Kent instill in him the morals that he should do right since the day they found him?
There's no reason to tack on all this extra baggage. Didn't you assholes learn your lessons from Superman Returns? Just give us the same damn Superman that Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve breathed life into and update the goddamn special effects. We want to see Superman kicking ass like we've never seen before.
I do like the new suit design, but please, no emo. No alienation. No hard decisions. No bastard super child. And for the love of God, no creepy x-ray vision peeping tom stuff with Lois. That last bit went way beyond the pale.

I have never understood the general loathing that 'Returns' has picked up since release.
Everyone on these boards is whining about how Snyderman: Man of Steel is a re-tread of the origin -- same old shit that's (likely) been done better before.
But mention 'Returns' and everyone calls it a pile of shit.
As much as Spacey's Luthor was a bit a re-hash of Hackman, and despite the fact that they maintained a rough continuity with the 1978 film, Singer and co. genuinely tried to do something exciting and new with the character.
By having Lois dating another man, Supes finally had a problem he *couldn't* beat with strength, speed, or earth-spinning bullshit. He was completely powerless, and in a world that's always faulting Superman for being invulnerably boring, it's a stroke of genius.
As for giving Supes a son, it elevated the story and character into a much more mature emotional bracket. Hell, even Lex's real estate scam (building Krypton on earth) was symbolically connected to the father/son theme and further added to Supes' feeling of identity loss and uselessness.
All that, with some SWEET action scenes in the plane crash and yacht rescue.
After having been delighted with how brave 'Returns' was, this reboot feels lazy and tired.

Making this movie without using the John Williams Superman theme is the same as making another Star Wars or Indy and not using the John Williams music.
Its inseperable now and no amount of time passing will make any difference to that at all. My friends 3 year old, when either Batman or Spiderman is mentioned to him, immediately sings the 60s Batman and Spiderman themes respectively. Once something sticks with people, it sticks for good, deny it at your peril.

Despite my earlier comments, I didn't hate Returns. Routh was great and it had it's moments. But...even Donner missed the point of Luthor. Luthor is a man who does evil things to achieve an end he ultimately believes is the right thing. The real estate thing was campy and worked 1979, not in 2006. The action was great, but I thought the son thing was a little forced. I think had he been Richard's son it would have added another dimension beyond Superman's control-and he'd have to reconcile the fact that he could offer Lois anything in the universe-except that, a child...would have made for a thought provoking character study-no?

I don't think Donner missed the point of Luthor. Hackman's Lex was a pretty accurate portrayal of the comic character from the time -- he was a pretty two dimensional mad villain.
By choosing to continue with this version of the character with Spacey, Singer did make an interesting, perhaps misguided choice. But I think that by infusing him with a hatred for Superman (this time, it's because he holds Supes responsible for his time in prison) it gave us a slightly different, and interesting take on the Lex character. When Supes is being beaten up and Lex gets dark, I think it's very effective.
This is a contrast to the version of Lex you're describing; a man who does terrible things because he believes he's doing the right thing, but really, that's only ever been a fraction of Lex's motivation.
Lex has ALWAYS had a particular loathing of Superman as a PERSON. Whether it's because Supes sent him to prison, or because Supes interferes in his plans, or because Supes is an alien, or because Supes is simply more famous than him, Lex LOATHES the Man of Steel.
His claim that he's doing what's best for mankind is really more of a self-justification for Lex. He might genuinely believe it, but really, so does Spacey's Luthor. He thinks that by stealing the crystals, he's doing mankind a favour.
...he also wants to use the situation to kill a man he despises.
At the end of the day, even if you strip the faux-humanitarianism away from Lex, his hatred for Superman would remain.

I don't agree that Richard having the son would have been more effective.
Superman's son was the perfect climax of the Jor-El/Kal-El father-son journey, and it was an incredibly emotional development for the character of Superman.
I believe it made the story very relatable for so many divorced parents who have to see their child grow up in another house, but nonetheless make an effort to still be a big part of that child's life.
I thought it was very moving.
Apparently I'm the only one.

a divided nation (Intelligence/Logics/Liberals vs. Idiot/Retards/Republicans). The majority falling on the side of retards being the reason he would think to be a lone entity that would fight for only a select few.

is fucking beautiful and an amazing masterpiece.
I think Spider-Man 4 and beyond would have taken similar adult themes and ran with them.
But Superman Returns is a fine one-off , it needs no further sequels to muck it up. It was perfect.

i agree that hackman's lex was pretty right with the times in the comics-and spacey going dark was a great moment. There have been many incarnations of Lex. I dig the idea of him being afraid that superman may get fed up and betray us all, like the run when lex was president. Tbe genius ego maniac is another great Lex. I didn't say I DIDN'T like the concept of superman having a child-no matter who the father was it could create an interesting character arc. My main problem with Supes having a kid is that it felt shoehorned just a bit-had they explored it a bit more and maybe eluded a little earlier instead of throwing it in as a surprise with the piano 20 minutes left in the film, it would have made it a more interesting plot device-maybe making the movie 20 minutes longer to explore it would have helped. I'll sit through a 5 hour movie with no bathroom break and two liters of soda if tbe movie us compelling. I don't know-the kid thing just felt a little forced to me is all. Also-I like superman tales that remind him he's not human afterall-and yet he lobes humanity anyway inspire if, or perhaps in some ways because of our faults

...what is the betting that since this a Nolan production that it will start off in Metropolis but all the Smallville/Krypton stuff will be done in flashback sequences interact with present day action, then second half Zod will turn up and massive smackdowns etc
It sounds like the first two Donner movies with Nolan's non linear time frames, Goyer's script and Snyder visuals...fucking hell...

They could still make a good movie out of it I guess. It's just not too inspiring based on that blurb. Sounds like safe, over-explored territory for this sort of film and this character. They seem to like using Superman to retell stuff most people on Earth know if they have heard of him. This movie sounds like it will "explore" the character we already know he is. IF not done exceedingly well, it will be a waste.

A talented writer could make a reboot story that was not solely focused on retelling the origin. We ALL know the damn origin by now and who Superman is - he's one of the most well-known fictional characters ever. What we really want to see is something a little different done with him for a change. A good writer knows 1st movie does not automatically mean "purely a setup for part 2." This could aspire to much more.

if they made the superman into an MK Ultra victim just like those girls in Sucker Punch, I might be mildly interested. Mr Synder, we have been watching what you've been hypnotising the masses with and we are NOT stupid! Click here: http://vigilantcitizen.com/moviesandtv/sucker-punch-or-how-to-make-monarch-mind-control-sexy-7-2/

The fact that it emphasizes that Superman is shaped by Ma and Pa Kents' values and not by urging from Jor-El to become Superman is actually a huge plus for me. It always bothers me when his Kryptonian heritage is emphasized and his origin is turned into a kind of Jesus metaphor. It throws the kind parents who raised him under the bus and it downplays the humanity which makes him appealing.

Of course. It's a HERO movie. They have to have something to overcome. If you look at the structure of the monomyth then you have to have something to overcome in a useful way.
I hope that Zod and his minions do something fairly atrocious to Superman - perhaps persuade him that he should take his role with them in ruling Earth (persuade him that they will rule justly, of course, although he will have been tricked) - and that he is turned/saved by the selfless act of a human (probably a child, to be honest).
That allows them to use Jor-El giving the line "they're a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way"... at which point he regains his grit, the horns pipe up, he makes a fist and goes and kicks ass, possibly only then beginning to use the Williams music. Nice call back to the '77 film in that it would show the emergence of Superman.
I for one would cheer like buggery if they did that. It would allow a bit of a social message in the film at the same time about how evil can be committed even where good is intended - how a liberating regime can in fact be an oppressor of a people.

The first draft or idea behind this probably did leave the origin out but then a suit said "Where did this guy come from again?" like Jon Peters did.
This is Hollyweird we are talking about. If you want a originless Superman movie support the HELL out of MOS or they'll reboot it with another origin AGAIN.

I always thought that SUPERMAN is so powerful that he's not that interesting. I hate "Kryptonite of the Month" stories whose only purpose is to make the character less powerful and therefore vulnerable.
To me, Superman's critical weakness is that he's just one man, and subject to manipulation by people around him. If you don't have superpowers of your own, the next best thing to be is the guy Superman trusts to point out who the "bad guys" are. If there really was a Superman, our leaders would spend most of their time on trying to think up ways to get Superman to crush their enemies for them by tricking him into thinking they're "villains".
So "Will his abilities be used to maintain peace or ultimately used to divide and conquer?" strikes me as a viable plotline.
The only problem is that this is Dr. Manhattan's plotline, so it's already been done, and quite recently at that.

I have a tremendous respect for Christopher Nolan, but i really would like a long detailed explanation from him why Zack The Hack Snyder boy was hired to direct this movie. Because fuck if i can understand it!

There's lots of intriguing elements to Donner's first superman movie that are just so damn cool. however, the movie skipped those and rushed it too fast. I'd like a more detailed origin story about Superman which would spend a bit more time with Krypton and how an influence his birth planet is on him. There has been too often told the importance of his smallbville upbringing to superman. But i want to know and see his kryptonian side more. I want to know more of Krypton before it exploded.
Hell, maybe it could make for a badass SF show. Instead of a Smallville type show where we see a lame ass emo fuck version of how Superman became and endure his fucking lame ass emo teenhood, we wouldhad a show set in krypton and the focus would his Supe's father Jor-El and his dealings with Zod and Brainiac, all leading the the events that brough down Krypton. Make it a 3 season lenght show so not to overstay it's welcome.

If Watchmen had only seen the Dr Manhathan ssequence alone, i would praise the shit out of it. Unfortunatly the fucking movie is surrounded by retard imbecility from a fucking hack who has the mind of a 12 years old. A too cool for school illiterate 12 years old.

Fellow students, prepare to be dazzled! [walks to the front of the room] Well, as Mrs. Krabappel already mentioned, the name of the book that I read was <Treasure Island>. It's about these... [describing the book jacket] pirates. Pirates... with patches over their eyes... and... shiny gold
teeth... and green birds on their shoulders... [pause] Did I mention this book was written by a guy named Robert Lewis Stevenson? And published by the good people at McGraw Hill. So, in conclusion, on the Simpson scale of one to ten, ten being the highest, one being the lowest, and five being average, I give this book... a nine. Any questions? [hands go up] Nope? Then I'll just sit down.

I know and I know.
That's the point.
I was born and raised in a red state with red family members , red "friends", red everything. I know red pretty well, which is why I have a personal vendetta against red.
Clark Kent would be the same. Being raised on a farm, then going into a city (where people aren't as closed-minded) would open his eyes further to reality of people and their politics. He's a reporter. He would have to struggle with "fair and balanced" and politics all the time.

All these years of Hollywood and TV productions, none of which have ever addressed how Superman got started, have left me in a debilitating state of curiosity.
Thank you, Warner Bros., for finally shining a light on this mystery. I can't wait to see extended scenes of this young, awkward boy finding his way, culminating in satisfying action only late in the film. It will be a refreshing change.
Now perhaps there's something else you can help me with. I've heard tell of this obscure character called "Lex Luthor", but no one ever seems to actually show him...

How is it that of the literally thousands of Superman tales, all of which are infinitely more interesting than where he came from, the only story that ever gets told is his origin story? I'm not going to suggest that the origin of Superman isn't interesting. Its just at this point it is like telling the origin of concrete or the origin of grass. We don't care anymore. It’s just there. Superman is just there. We know what he does. We know he can fly. We know bullets bounce off. We know about the building vs. single bound theory. We know that kryptonite and video game manufacturers can both easily kill him. So what the hell? Is this an origin story or are you an idiot story? Superman isn't even "hip" anymore. Superman is a kid or loser subject that makes its way into the lives of adults and cool kids. We just all know about him (see concrete and grass reference). If you have to be told where Superman came from, watch the first Reeves movie, or that snoozer starring Kevin Spacey and one of the emos from Scott Pilgrim, or read one of the 300 gabizillion books and comics that have been around much longer than most of us. Origin stories aren't interesting on screen anymore. The first half is boring back story and nice to meet you fluff that we don't need. The rest is either sitting on edge waiting for what we saw in the preview or a CGI fest meant to be subliminal advertising for a potential sequel. We know Superman will be great. He has "Super" in his name. He's either fantastic or he really sucks. We know he's strong. We know he's smart. We know that in Metropolis putting on fake glasses will hide your identity. We know he grew up in a town where they film tween shows. We know he works for a print newspaper in 2011, which means we also know he's not the sharpest tack when it comes to economics. All of that isn't the point. It’s Superman. Why on Earth have we not seen him fight Doomsday on the big screen? Super hero movies suck on a whole. Even the spoof movies like Hancock are an embarrassment. Kill Superman off or do him proud but stop wasting 2 hours of his life at a time to prove he went to high school and can lift heavy things.

That was Bart's book report from episode 2.1 of the Simpsons, but your point remains. I just wish they would have done the synopsis like Snyder films: "C o m i n g f r o m t h e PLANETKRYPTONHEHASTOFINDOUTWHOHEIS."

TRAIN-WRECK. When you've got a fucking studio that does not understand their properties, this is the type of shit you get. They aren't interested in making a great SUPERMAN movie, you know... one where SUPERMAN actually shows up.
What they are interested in is taking pretty much everything IN NAME ONLY while they stitch an archetype and a story into the suit that they think will work. They did this shit the last time and the result was the ultimate turdheap in The Green Lantern. They didn't understand that character, the archetype(all you gotta do is think Indiana Jones), or the property. Instead we get some snivelling snotbag trying to overcome his fear to the point that his g/f has to bitch slap him around.
So now we get SUPERMAN, which is your basic immigrant ultimate good-guy story and it gets twisted and turned such that he has to go all emo for an hour-45 just to figure out what we allready know that.. well.. gosh... he's going to use his fucking powers for good.
Fuck.
That.
If they can't put out a genuine story based around the actual CHARACTER of Superman, something that has been established for almost 75 years, don't bother.
Thats the one thing that Marvel has over WB/DC(Batnolan excepted) above all else. They actually know their characters and get them up there and build interesting stories around them. They don't take the character and gut it in order to service some story they think might sell.

No way it's going to released June 2013. That's almost 2 years in post production.
I really don't think so. Reckon it's a 2012 release. Hell, 'The Dark Knight Rises' is scheduled for a July 2012 release, and it's been made now. As is 'Man of Steel'.
Doesn't add up.

So they are making Smallville: The Motion Picture! So relieved, because so few people really know the origin story behind Superman. And why would Hollywood want to give us something original when they can rehash the same old shit...

The '77 SUPES is fucking gospel to geeks, but it's going to be 35 years old by the time Snyder's movie hits theaters.
Let it go, fuckers. Just because we're all so familiar with the origin story doesn't mean millions of other people won't be interested in seeing it.
This synopsis tells us NOTHING about how it will be told or shown. Calm the fuck down. There's nothing more emo than whiny, spoiled fanboys.

Didn't we just get 10 seasons of this in Smallville? Are they going to follow that formula, where we get 5 movies and it isn't until the last 15 minutes of the finally movie that he finally comes to terms and accepts his role?

So, If I'm to understand this, Superman comes from another planet, is raised by adoptive parents, and then has to decide how to use his abilities on earth!? HOOLLYY CRAP! This movie is going to be mind blowing!

That sucks. I bought them on release...that´s how old I am! Have you tried ebay or something?
Now that Marvel has the rights to the character they´d be silly not to put a paperback out for people to catch up. Moore´s Miracleman is a masterpiece, forget about Watchmen, Swamp Thing...etc.
I hope you get to check it out.

I was thinking that a Calvin & Hobbes movie might be worth seeing, but upon reflection I hope the brainless mob in Hollywood never get a chance to screw that up as well. I shudder to imagine Hobbes being voiced by Justin Bieber or some other clown.

You, sir, are very clever. The first time you said "Emo", I thought it was just a fluke. But then you did it AGAIN! And then when I saw there was a third comment from you, I was like, "No way is he gonna put 'emo'". But then you did! Oh man!

You better set your hopes low. A good casting do not a good movie make. And not even Nolan The Great can help the fucks up that Snyder is so well known to make.
And speaking of Nolan, he better deliver on THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, because it will take a bit to clean my irritation of his hiring of Zack The Pussy Ass Fuck Hack Snyder as director.

Coming soon, a new Superman product that will generate toy revenue and happy meals. We are excited about the opportunity to carry the Superman product name in an easy to consume wholesome family friendly package. Oh and we are excited. Because in marketing 101 which most of us got a C in at the local Jr College they told us to say "excited' over and fucking over and over in every possible form of communication.

We just had 10 YEARS of origin. I wish someone would make a MATURE Superman movie. In his 40s at LEAST. There can still be struggles, emotion, inner conflicts. But I am so tired of seeing origin stories told over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over....etc, etc, etc....

It totally misses the core idea of Superman to begin with. Go back and read the first issues of Action comics.
Superman has a blast being Superman. He's a FUN character. There's NEVER any question in his mind about "should he use his powers" or "how should he use his powers". He KNOWS he's badass and has a LOT of fun being that way. He's one of a kind, and he's down with that. He grabs bad guys by the collar and hoists them a mile into the air - all the while laughing with glee as they scream for their lives.
He has no qualms about bursting into politicians offices and forcing them to do what's right. Although he makes himself scare in the public eye, when he's in action, he doesn't hesitate to perforce elaborate acrobatics and show off for the crowd at hand.
His favorite pastime is fooling Lois Lane - he gets a big laugh out of "pulling one" over on her; yet you get the feeling that if she ever did see through his (admitted thin) disguise, he frankly wouldn't get too bent about it - in fact, he would probably get a big laugh out of making her feel like a complete ass.
He's fun. He's exciting. He bends steel girders like pretzels. He loves who he is and what he does. Superman is adventure and ACTION. He's no boyscout - he's the MAN of steel, and he's not about to let anyone forget it.
THAT'S who Superman is - it's just not that hard to figure out.

Remember that we found out awhile ago that Clark will "walk the Earth like Kung Fu"....or Bruce Banner anyway, trying to decide if he wants to be Superman.
So in other words "Hey that Smallville shit made bank....let's do that!"
Then he'll be Superman in probably the last half hour and go fight Zod....again.
Zod, who was once so incredibly cool....is now about as menacing as that giant pitcher of Kool-Aid that used to smash through the wall.
You'd think the oldest superhero of all time only had 2 fucking villains!
However I'm still optimistic because i think Henry Cavill, what little I've seen of him, will be a good Superman. And ev erything Snyder does is epically beautiful. I just watched Sucker Punch the other day and HOLY FUCK is it gorgeously directed! THAT GUY is doing the next Superman film? FUCK YES!!

From Dark Horizons -
POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD
What's surprising here is that this matches word-for-word a synopsis that came from an unnamed source back in April on Movie Newz. The same source back then included extra paragraphs not seen in this one. These said the following:
"General Sam Lane, the father of Lois Lane, is a central figure in director Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot. This really is as Zack described in several interviews about the film, a 'real world' Superman. I’m told that when Superman arrives on the scene; people don’t know what to think. He’s an alien from another planet. What are his real intentions? He’s not human and that scares a lot of people. Here’s a guy who can fly, see through walls, is bullet proof and can lift a tank.
The military views him as a potential threat to national security. They find kryptonite, pieces of his home planet, and discover its radioactive elements can be harnessed as a near unlimited source of power, both literally and figuratively. It’s a brand new form of energy that is secretly developed by the government. The military, under the direction of General Sam Lane, uses kryptonite to power an experimental cyborg super solider named Metallo. He’s ultimately exploited as a weapon against Superman."
Also in spoiler territory today, a lot more set photos and reports have cropped up from shooting in Illinois and have confirmed that not only will we see a young Clark Kent in several scenes, but there's also shots of a gravestone with the name of Jonathan Kent on it indicating Kevin Costner's father figure will bite the dust at some point.

Agree with you completely about "Returns". I was dazzled by it when I first saw it, and still enjoy it now. The plane crash rescue was tremendous. The scene where Luthor "kills" Superman was the first reminder since Donner's original (the Kryptonite necklace scene) that Luthor is a major threat to Superman, not just a talker.
I've said it before, I'll say it again. ANYONE who is going to see a Superman movie knows he was sent to Earth from Krypton by his parents as the planet exploded. ANYONE who is going to see a Superman movie knows that he is Clark Kent at the Daily Planet and struggles with his identity. WHY do we need to keep getting reminded of this?

what has Stalin,Hitler and Utopia to do with solving the worldwide hunger problem?
I didnt say anything about Superman controlling the fate of every single life in the planet and creating the perfect society.
All i am saying is that the people of the 1st world dont give a fuck about the people of the 3rd world.that is a fact.
Superman on the other hand does care about all people,and especially the poor and weak.
And he can help them with his super-powers to at least solve their basic needs: food and water.
And after that, IF he wants to interfere a bit more to their lives,and if the people want it too,he can then help them with the development of their countries's infrastructure:
help them extract raw materials and produce their own first goods ,help them with the construction for the necessary facilities and services for a country to function properly: transportations system,telecommunications system,electricity grid,sewer system,help them build hospitals and schools.
And after he finishes helping them to build all these things,he can go away and leave them ALONE to create by themselves the laws,the educational system and the constitution,they want for their countries.
This is a solution which a fictional super-hero like Superman can accomplish,even if he was a real-one.
But the solution of him carrying containers with crop around the world to feed the hungry,that was the most retarded use of god-like powers lke Superman.who was the moronic writer who wrote that comic story?

You do realize he becomes more powerful the longer he is here, under the yellow sun, right?
Yes, I want an older Supes, who has more experience and way more powerful. One who fights real superpowered villians and not just guys with guns. I don't want this emo "why am I here" bs. I want him to BE Superman, with all the pansy stuff behind.

Maybe the Molecule Man, who appears to have pretty much the same powers.
Apart from that, out of the well-known established lore of the main publishers, only cosmic characters have more power. Which would include the Phoenix Force, technically.

since i saw the pictures of Henry Cavill as The Last Son i have been angry, i do not like the costume, i do not like the synopsis, and i do not like the DO!! However, as a hardcore fan of the man of steel ill give it a chance and wait and see what the trailer will bring. However, I'm still angry that the original story that started with Christopher Reeve is not being continued, and as there has never really been a son of superman in the main dc universe i was hoping to see how Singer's story arch would continue, now i never will, and instead we are stuck with a crappy re-start of a franchise and story every self respecting human knows already. I'm a huge fan of Snyder's work but i am just upset Routh in not Supes, (though i am proud of a Brit playing him:) as i genuinely think he was perfect, stuck with tradition in the casting and to top it all off he looked the spit of Reeve when those glasses went on.

Aug. 18, 2011, 10:08 a.m. CST

by David Guthrie

amen to that, smallvilles just finished why make a movie, its ridiculous

Will his abilities be used to maintain peace or ultimately used to divide and conquer?
So Snyder is going to turn Superman into something that, at some point in the plot, we are afraid of, or uncertain as to his intentions? Despite the core values taught by his parents? To write such a thing means that he's actually tempted at some point to 'divide and conquer the world'?
Repeat that to yourself out loud. 'Superman can't decide to maintain peace, or DIVIDE AND CONQUER THE WORLD'.
At best, it sounds like a bad, emo-anger angle. At worst, it's a moment of temptation in the film that violates every fiber of the established character we all know.
My zero faith in this remains at zero.

Studio will never take a risk on an actor that doesn't look young enough to fit into a Twilight Movie.
Superman's more of a big brother role model than a Peter Parker who is young and trying to find his way.

Ok..was scrolling thru to see if someone else would mention it but I just don't have the bloody patience...
But anyway...over at DH, Garth was saying that the synopsis paragraph written at the top of this thread was actually identical to a "scopp" synopsis written up a while back (last year or something) and it went much further than the above bit...
[!!WARNING!!: potential spoilers ahead]
the idea is this...immediately after the paragraph above, it goes on to talk about General Lane (Lois's Dad) who is working with the military over the appearance of "Superman", an apparently indestructible alien, and how they're concerned over his abilities and potential threat to either the government, the country, the world (ie generic military paranoia) and that they also discover kryptonite from Supe's home world as a source of power "figuratively and literally" and that they develop a "super soldier" using some type of kyptonite-based technology going under the name Metallo.
Not much more details than that but there it is...

... is this not being made in Smell-O-Vision?
WHY? DAMMIT!!!! WHY??????????????
And an even better question...?
So, producers need to have an origin story for a superhero adaptation for a movie version, or non-comic fans won't know what is going on, and therefore ticket sales will lag...one can only presume is the fucked up current logic, since every fucking superhero movie HAS and seemingly NEEDS to have an origin story, so far.
Am I right here kids?
Is there ANYONE on this herE fucking planet called Earth that doesn't currently know the FUCKING ORIGIN OF SUPERMAN??????
And telling a fucking piece of bullshit story about an angst-ridden Clark of the "Why am I here?" variety is not telling a Superman adventure, it is Lois and Clark TV episode bullshit that no one wants to see. Oh people will show up, because it will be Superman, but will they like this piece of shit story? Will they give word of mouth appraisal?
Fuck, NO!
G

...While also telling a REAL story, you know, ther kind of story you can get, already storyboarded, in ANY fucking Superman comic?
You start with the Superman adventure, one that has NOTHING to do with telling us who Superman is (because everyone already knows that).
Somewhere in the middle, give a 5 minute, or less recap of the origin - a stylish montage of events, with lots of flair and flash. Make it fucking FUN to watch , and short.
And then get on with telling the fucking story proper. Make it adult, make it cartoony, make it in whatever mood you want, but just give it verisimilitude and make it, fun, adventurous, and MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL, MAKE the action big, big, big, goddammit!!!!
Fuck Lex Luthor, fuck the small stuff.
Make the action science fiction magical, make the villain more powerful than Superman, and
let Superman have a damn larger than life adventure!!!!!!
Start the story off- world, in space, or on another planet, make Superman almost die to defeat a large evil force, have him fighting side by side with Green Lantern.
Make us all smile!!!!!! Because we would be watching something we have never seen before in a comic book movie adaptation. Like, let's see the comic book universe where more than one superhero exists at a time, with other superhero cameos popping up.
Something worthy of spending hundreds of millions of dollars - you know, the kind of money that could build hospitals- to give us something sturdy, memorable-- and not just more disposable garbage entertainment that is not fun to watch.
GODDAMITTTTTTT!!!!!!!
Why is this so difficult for the money suits to understand??????
OK - now- make it so- you fucking fuckity-fucks - we know you can- but I suspect won't - because the director is not a visionary.
Very few directors are anymore.
Fucking shame, eh wot?

This matches word-for-word a synopsis that came from an unnamed source, back in April, on Movie Newz. The same source, back then, included extra paragraphs:
"General Sam Lane, the father of Lois Lane, is a central figure in director Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot. This really is as Zack described in several interviews about the film, a 'real world' Superman. I’m told that when Superman arrives on the scene; people don’t know what to think. He’s an alien from another planet. What are his real intentions? He’s not human and that scares a lot of people. Here’s a guy who can fly, see through walls, is bullet proof and can lift a tank.
The military views him as a potential threat to national security. They find kryptonite, pieces of his home planet, and discover its radioactive elements can be harnessed as a near unlimited source of power, both literally and figuratively. It’s a brand new form of energy that is secretly developed by the government. The military, under the direction of General Sam Lane, uses kryptonite to power an experimental cyborg super solider named Metallo. He’s ultimately exploited as a weapon against Superman."

There were also plenty of chodes demanding that Nolan use Elfman's Bat theme, too.
Don't fanboys remember that Singer eschewed the origin story (mostly) while re-using Williams' theme? They were not happy with that. Far from it. These things alone will not make a good SUPERMAN movie.

Oh, it only turned out that the main fucking villain of the piece was the guy who FUCKING MURDRED BATMAN'S PARENTS TO BEGIN WITH.
Amateur.
Furthermore, your INDY IV comparison is beyond fucking retarded. Snyder's MAN OF STEEL is not a sequel to any previous SUPERMAN movie. It's a fucking reboot.
This is known.
CHOPPED.

What Hitler and Stalin have to do with it, is after Superman arrested them in the comic, in the real world they continued to wage war. Superman's action in the comic had no affect on the real world. What was the next Superman story going to be? Him arresting them again and again.
Same thing with your idea of him helping feed world hunger. He does it in the comic and world hunger is gone, but in the real world it very much still exist. So what, every year he has to tackle the same problem again and again? Kind of makes the Man of Steel look rather powerless doesn't it? Peace on Earth was a dumb idea, but it was also necessary to explain why in the comics Superman has no drastic change on how the world operates.
The entire idea of Superman not interfering with human destiny and limiting his powers wasn't so much based on an actual moral concept by the writers as it was necessity. Superman solves hunger in comics but it will still exist in the real world, which means he will have to tackle it again and again and again....Better to have Superman look effective fighting super-villains who are metaphor for real world problems and dilemmas than actually tackling the real problems. Otherwise you make him look very ineffective and who wants to read stories about a hero who can't change things? Better stick with things he can take on and win against.
(I will say you can maybe throw this rule out the window for a movie: you are only doing a couple in a series for a movie franchise, not publish one a month like in the comic for years; who is to say you can't show how radically different the world would be if Superman really did exist).

In 1979 more people were familiar with Superman than they are now. Remember, before the movie he was in chapter serials, a long running radio program, a TV show, a popular daily comic strip, and a number of cartoons, besides being in a comic that once sold a million issues a month.
If anything back in 1979 you could have skipped his origin because he was even more well known, but Donner didn't because he had to show audiences how his Superman was going to be different from previous incarnations and what they were familiar with.
I have little faith in this project, but I have no problem with redoing origin stories as long as you touch on things that hasn't been touched upon before.

Nothing to be pissed about. Just don't be surprised when a movie based on that stupid synopsis turns out to be boring, pretentious and totally lacking in any actual tension.
Will he (Superman) be a force for good or for dividing and conquering!? Oh, shit-- don't leave me hanging! I have to know, which will it be!? WHICH WILL IT BE!!!???

The level of unprofessionalism on this site never ceases to amaze me.
Can't AICN hire a couple people that know what words mean.
This is in NO WAY a plot synopsis. If you think it is, you should throw yourself out the nearest window.
Why even post something like this when it provides no information and adds nothing to anything?

This is more like the brief a director gives an actor about his character.
I think this is Proberbly what Snyder gave Cavill.
To help him understand his role.
As for a plot summery.. ??????
still non the wiser
But I do Love SUPERMAN and cant wait for this film

Lemme get this straight: Assailing ridiculous, erroneous, mis-informed 'arguments' with logic and evidence makes one an assclown?
If it weren't for your love of Snyder's WATCHMEN, I'd completely dismiss you as the Rick Perry of these boards.

...and that as the protagonist, Superman would have to face some challenges and save the world. So what new storyline does this synopsis reveal? Diddly squat.
Now if we know specifics about the antagonist and what they do and specifics about the challenges that Superman will face, THAT would be worthy of a spoilerific official plot synopsis. Lucky that wasn't here because I like to be surprised, but spoilers tempt me.

Just what (not who) we need now huh?
Another piece of shit Texan to the right of W.
America is so fucked right now, but not enough people notice - until it is way too late.
WE are so easily distracted, because there is just so much fucked up right now our collective heads would explode... but hey what's that newfangled thing on the horizon- gotta get me one of those.....
The right runs this country, and has done so for quite some time, despite who is the Prez.
We don't need no stinking middle classe- just the rich and the fucking controllable poor...
SQUIRREL!!!!!!>>>>>>>>>

Someone trying to do that would earn a "die Hollywood die" feeling from me. Some things are perfect just as they are, and their untouched nature is reassuring to people to whom sanity in the world is important.

HOW THE FUCK in ANY stretch of the imagination (and it would be one hell of a stretch)...
...or in terms of ACTUAL news reporting (which doesn't happen much at this site anymore, since the news is always days or weeks late)...
...could someone say (quote): "We now know the basic plot of Zack Snyder's MAN OF STEEL. And it's exactly what we thought it was!"
Seriously, does the drivel in that paragraph even come CLOSE to a "basic plot"?
Drunky McLush summed it up best: "That's the basic concept behind ALL the Superman stories."
This bullshit is simply the opening paragraph atop a standard extras casting sheet that gets handed out, where the copy is always written to be 100% bland and to be purposefully NON-informational, so as NOT to reveal anything important.
For crying out loud, if you simply posted what the REST of the casting notice said...and detailed WHAT kind of extras they were looking for...at least then this freakin' article would have contained .0000001% news.

..Try that you just watched this. For ten damn years. It was called Smallville.
And everyone knows his origin, you can do All Star Grant Morrisson's route and have the entire origin set up post credits and actually make a Superman movie instead of a how he became Superman film.
#EpicFailFilm

I mean -- this was the comic book that INTRODUCED the character of Superman back in 1938 -- when nobody had ever heard of Superheroes, much less Superman.
How about a James Bond-eqsqe action opener to introduce the character -- much like Action #1?

that Snyder can direct something amazing. He's severely underrated. Sucker Punch is tied with Black Swan for film of the year for me.
Screw the haters. Nobody listens to them anyway. They're mostly just fat-ass nerds sitting on their fat asses eating and wanking themselves to an early grave. They spew verbal garbage on AICN in between 19 hour straight-bouts of Warcraft about how a film could be done better without actually doing fuck all themselves.
Am I right? You're damn right I'm right.

The template for how to make a successful and long-running comic book movie series is already laid out and has been working on film for 50 years. James Bond. You have a series with a character who had defined traits and personality. You set up his world. Then every couple/three years you release a new movie centered around a more or less self-contained story/plot. There can be loose connections to previous plotlines and there can be recurring villains and characters. But, for the most part, each movie is a self-contained event. Over the years, the actors can change, come and go. But you don't futz around with the character's defining traits. You don't worry with a three movie story arc in which you kill off main villains and characters, or send the hero into some kind of existential crisis, or make huge changes in his life, thereby writing yourself into a corner and necessitating a "re-boot" every few years. You just fucking roll with the character and the concept. The very first movie can be an origin. But after that, just trust that the scripts can give an audience everything they need to know about the character. We don't need to see James Bond's "origin." Hell, he was twenty-something movies in before they attempted anything approaching a "re-boot," and even then, I don't consider "Casino Royale" a true, hard re-boot. Each 007 movie starts with a bang --- straight into an action scene. Get the audience excited and involved. Cue theme music and title sequence. Jump into the story. Assume that everybody either already knows who 007 is, or is smart enough to figure it out real quick. Wrap up adventure in one movie. Rinse and repeat with next film. Why wouldn't this formula work with characters like Superman and Spider-Man?

Rick Perry is the man self loathing pricks need - as well as the dumbest people in the USA.
Yeah take the country back -and fuck it up even worse than the black guy is doing - fuck yeah!
WE need more poor people - who think being dumb and poor and out of work with no health care is noble and AMERCUN.
Puull my finger and let's do som BBQin'!!!

Wow.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1002541/
http://blog.moviefone.com/2007/04/04/metal-men-becomes-the-latest-comic-book-movie/
Please cast Pierce Brosnan as Doc Magnus! It could be a sort of reprise of his character from "Mars Attacks" only less niaeve and stupid.

Watchmen, much like Blade Runner, will be given a lot more love in 20 years than it is being given now. It was a fucking great film.
The ONLY reason it wasn't a commercial hit was because it was about superheroes no one had ever heard of, and it was not a slam bang action adventure movie. It was a slow-moving, period piece overlayed with a detective story as a motif.
It also required the audience to be immersed in comic book lore and cliches and tropes to get a lot of what was going on.
It was a very dark movie that didn't have any big action sequences, or a brilliant acting performance from a young actor who just died before the movie came out to propel interest.

He's not gay, but he does seem to want to buttfuck the country, Texass style, with slathered BBQ sauce as the lubricant for all the "being a true Amercun" is being against your own self interests while keeping the rich rich andthe middle cdlassd poorer, cuz hard work is all that matters, even if it meanskilling yourelf while working to keep the rich rich.
Anyway, being gay is OK, unless of course you are a Christian conservative, then fuck off and go back to your own gay country, or something like that, or we will put you in gay camp until Jesus shows you how to use your dick in a proper Christian manner.
And would it be too much to ask to have a Superman movie that is also science fiction, considering he's a fucking alien and all!
And shouldn't all conservatives hate Superman cuz he's an illegal, undocumented alien, probably a terrorist, masquerading as an Amercun, waiting to destroy yout hometown with his illegal alienness? And he's probably a Kreeptonian Muslim whose middle name is probably Kal Hussein El.
Sounds like he wants to kill us all, and then the world.
Oh, vote Republican and rid the world of this menace, once and for all

Whatever.
He doesn't have to be gay or an adulterer to already know that he is a class 1 panderer to dumb assholes where being an american means being dumb and an asshole first, anddumb and an asshole second, and....

Darkhorizons.com says Metallo is the villain! I used to loathe Superman Returns but upon repeat viewings it has grown on me over the years. I wish Bryan Singer was allowed to continue. The man knows how to film sweeping action sequences!

...to be flushed down the fucking toilet. Hack Shyster. Who let him near Superman..? Oh well, looks like we'll have to wait thirty years for another after this turd has finished wiping his arse on DC's prize asset.

For the guy who was talking about how superman could solve the problems of the world like hunger---Read Green Lantern The Power of Ion... green lantern gets even more powers than superman that makes him a near god and he basically solves all the worlds problems in a week, but he loses touch with his humanity in the process because he basically became a god

I just can't see how this movie can fail (for me at least). Zack Snyder is on the short list of directors who could make a Superman film and give it one thing that no other has had, that real solid SUPERHERO MOVIE element. Aside from that, he's garnered a dream cast (not the video game system) of a perfect Ma and Pa Kent, a great Lois Lane, a great Jor-El, a great villain lead and based on his look and talents in Tudors a great Superman. Unless the script is simply atrocious (like Superman Returns was) I can't see how this film could possibly go wrong! ::prays these aren't famous last words being written::

We'd open in the air force base command center where he has spent the last decade of his life, getting real-time intel feeds from all over the world. Sort of like that "Call of Duty" room they say Bush had in the White House basement, but x100 - he's getting every kitten stuck in a tree from all over the world.
And Supes is slowly wearing out mentally, because he can't be everywhere at once, and wherever he doesn't go, somebody dies. And sometimes he goes places and gets there too late and someone dies anyway. (No "Spin the Earth backwards to turn back time" crap here.) And sometimes he goes places and it's just a feint and something REALLY bad goes down elsewhere. And sometimes he goes places and in the course of fighting the bad guys his heat vision wastes a bunch of crippled orphans. And every time he goes to sleep it's the "watch" scene from Schindler's List, because while he's sleeping he can't be watching the feeds, so every minute he's asleep someone dies.
So he's in this command center and he's twitching like a meth freak, and he's slowly starting to lose track of what's real and what's not. He's starting to see Jor-El talking to him, like in those Fortress of Solitude crystal scenes, except he's seeing him in places like the command center head. And he's starting to get paranoid. And he's starting to blame the guys he works with for the fact that everything is falling apart. And the generals are telling the President that they aren't sure they can control him much longer.
And then Zod shows up.
But is he really there?
Anyway, that's how I'd do it. It would probably suck.

This is the thing that seems most people keep over-looking about Superman: HE'S FROM ANOTHER PLANET. He's from another spieces. He's AN ALIEN! But for some weird reason,. people keep presenting Superman as if he's fully human with superpowers. Instead of what he actually is: AN ALIEN FROM ANOTHER WORLD.

Presumably that's because he was raised by humans in human society since infancy, grew up thinking he was human, etc. So he doesn't have an alien perspective on us the way that, say, Martian Manhunter would have.

It didn't take cause human nature.
Just like now, all the hunger relief donations for Africa are being stolen by the warlords' militias.
Superman thinking like a Kryptonian and saying stuff like "Great Rao!" is so 1950's. Why would he think like an alien if he can't remember a single thing about Krypton? He was raised as human, and depending on the origin, he didn't develop many of his powers until puberty or adulthood.
Superman as an alien was what Tim Burton wanted. No thanks.

De-power him to Fleischer levels - he has to leap to travel, save the flying for the third act, he can lift a little heavier than a car, he can stop a train with great difficulty and is almost invulnerable, no heat vision, cold breath, super-eyelashes etc, then lets watch metallo beat the hell out of him for 39 minutes

The left will always inform us who they fear.
Sarah Palin the "Media Whore" got in a campaign bus to campaign for... nothing. All while _not_ telling the media where she was going to be.
Meanwhile, the man that owns two car companies bought his non-campaign tour bus from Canada and is not-campaign touring 57 states in his non-campaign bus funded by tax dollars despite having over $1bil in his campaign coffers.
He's been bitching about corporate jet owners before embarking on his shared sacrifice pilgrimage to Martha's Vineyard where he will spend time with... corporate jet owners.
You can't really eat this bullshit you shovel out, can you? I trust it's not as shovel ready as you thought.
I can repost this in Austrian if you prefer.

turns Earth into a Utopia, says, "That's how you do it," splits, goes off somewhere interesting where people of supermannish ability don't have to mope around and wonder if they should use their powers for, you know, America's corporate status quo or China's, has some crazy adventures in imaginative settings that don't constantly remind me of the sort of crap we obsess over in HIGH SCHOOL, and then, at the end, maybe comes back to find humans have fucked the Earth all up again and need to be saved some more.
That story might kind of interest me.
Superboy learning to dress himself, picking a career, and catching Lois Lane as she drops out of her millionth window doesn't interest me in the slightest.
Even if it's all soft-focused and wowed up with Zack Snyder's state-of-the-art homoerotica. In 3D!
This thing is floating on its back.
Who'd they cast as Terrence Stamp again? Oh, yeah. Michael Shannon gotta eat.

He was raised as a human and feels as though he is one. Sure he feels alone, but he doesn't miss the people of Krypton any more than I miss the people of Ireland.
That was the first indication that Bryan Singer didn't really get it.

if you think it is, you missed the part about "years ago." They'll give us an opening credits catch-up, like Incredible Hulk did.
And oh yeah, as far as "maintain peace or ultimately used to divide and conquer", all my money is on divide and conquer. Superman goes all Nazi evil and takes over the world and then destroys it. Then the last shot is him flying through space looking for a new planet and that planet's Lois Lane equivalent to give the business to.

They did an origin of Batman which was a hit,then they did the sequel which was a smash and so on.
They are doing the same thing with Superman that's why they hired Nolan as the exec producer.
The difference will be that Superman will be more comic-ish and less realistic compared to Batman,thus the hiring of Snyder from Nolan.

What about this cast is great? Let's start with Cavill. I've not seen tbe Rudors, but based on Hellraiser:Hellworld, Blood Creek, and the trailer for the immortals, he's a syfy original, straight to DVD, latenight cable actor AT BEST(and that's being generous). Let's move on to the Kents then. Not that I have any beef with Costner, but...it's Costner. No matter what, he takes me out of his movies just by being there. I can't help but realize he's nit Robin Hood...he's fuckong Kevin Costner(also-why is he considered a great actor? Great presence maybe, great actor?! Not even close). As for Diane Lane-I shouldn't want to fuck Martha Kent more than Lois Lane. As for Lois-Amy Adams is a great actress, she's a little weird looking( definitely hotter than Kidder), and not at all what Lois Lane should look like. Truthfully-her Lois Labe will be the character from The Fighter without the accent. Michael Shannon looks like a pussy, so Zod is ruined. The screen time of Jor-el will probably be Negligable, sothats a waste of Russel Crowe. Just about the only member of the cast that I like is Lawrence fidhburne. Add to all of this the fact that Snyder isn't capable of directing traffic, much less a cast with what is sure to be enough ego to fill a Kent Farm grain silo, and you have a catastrophe. I could also go on aboutthe suit looks like rubbish, the haircuts wrong, etc... But I don't really need to do I?

It almost sounds like they still don't know what they're going to do.
I mean seriously. That paragraph could mean ANYTHING! Threat of global war, environmental disaster, super villian, alien invasion, angry squirrels...
Jesus. Get back to us when you've got at least something substantial to talk about. The self-searching thing was touched on in Superman 2.

If you raise a dog among people, or a chimp or a tiger, and while they might learn some behavior traits from humans and view them as obvious companions, they are still dogs, chimps and tigers. their cultural background is based on their interactions with the humans, but they are still the animals they are.
Superman should be the same thing. He was raised as a human, but he's still AN ALIEN.
How to portait his alieness? Well, first of all, by showing that no matter how much he wants to blend in, he will always be an outsider. Which would be his vulnerability as a character, which could be exploited and dammage him as much as kryptonite. Superman has rock-solid good values and upholds them to a fault, but that doens't mean he can't have failties of character. In the end, he's an alien. always was, always will be, no matter all else.

The world wouldn't need saving and he could live the life of an ace reporter who bangs Lois Lane 24/7 and occasionally sneaks out the window to go fly around the world for fun.
He wouldn't do a bunch of alien shit..

And the story is well known: Jesus was just a man with the powers of a god, sent here by his infinitely wise father to save mankind.
Hell, when I was seven or eight years old and saw Superman: The Movie for the first time, I couldn't help but notice how much young Kal in the meteorite crater evoked the image of Jesus born in the manger.
And if Jesus wasn't so troubled by the ways of men, he'd have spent his time preaching love and banging whores, instead of driving the money changers from the temple which ended up getting him executed.

You raise a dog *around* humans, not as a human. Big difference. And pet dogs do in some sense think they're human. Or rather, they think you're an alpha dog.
As for chimps... great apes raised around humans (not *as* humans) will self-identify as human if you ask them to sort a marker of their identity between piles of other identity markers. They'll take their marker and put it with the humans every time. Especially gorillas.
Kryptonians are humanoid and apart from their reaction to yellow sunlight, identical in every way to humans. Superman would be aware of his uniqueness, possibly feel alone, but he would not have any "alien" impulses or uniquely alien frailties. His frailties are human, that's the entire point of the character (as a memetic tool of moral instruction).

"Sure he feels alone, but he doesn't miss the people of Krypton any more than I miss the people of Ireland."
Seems you are seeing a bit too much of yourself in Superman, my friend. Is that the only way you can relate to a character, if he has a trait exactly like yours? You couldn't emphatise to a character if he's an alien different from you?
One good reason why superman has to be presented as an alien is because him being presented as a superpowered human has been done TO DEATH all this half century already. And him presented as a human does kinda misses the point that he came from another world. He came from another world. This fact can't be stressed enough.

If i'm not mistaken, Fleisher's Superman animations were originally shown in the theaters back in the day. They were made to be the opening of a double bill with some other movie, the same way the WB's Merry Melody cartoons were. Only later they were transmited on TV.

"And pet dogs do in some sense think they're human."
That's my point. Thank you.
Superman might have grew up around humans ansd coopy his culture and values, but HE'S AN ALIEN. And that's something that should never ever be left out. Which shas been, cosntantly. Thwe way Superman has always bene portaited as an hyper human, with him comming from another world as, at best, a justification for why he's so super-powered. but rarely, if ever, it's adressed the fact that HE'S REALLY FROM ANOTHER WORLD, THAT'S HE'S REALLY AN ALIEN.
And form the reluctance that so many like you have about that issue, it makes me suspect you have a real problem in adressing the issue of alieness in a character. Sepcially one that is an alien. Your allergy to the notion of superman as an alien is frightningly weirding me out.

Straight to the ad hominem... straight to failure.
Yes I identify with Superman. Not to an excessive degree. And it doesn't invalidate the analogy. Trying to use it to expose some perceived flaw in my psychology is just a way to avoid adressing the debate. In other words you're exposing your awareness of your own BS.

Jesus is God made human. Made human. Superman is an alien who's antropomorphic. He was not made into a human, he's an alien that looks like a human. There's'a big fucking difference and you know that very well.
The only thing in common about Jesus and Superman is that both are highly fictionalized characters, only that with superman we know who created the fictionalization (though you could argue that it was Saint Paul who first fictionalized Jesus into a hyper-human status).

God and jesus are one, but jesus was also just a man. He was sent to live among men. He had the mind of a man with the knowledge and power of a god.
It's the most obvious parallel to Jesus around. Don't argue with me about this I literally wrote essays on it.

And why others call him superman? They call him so before they knew he was from a different palnet. they saw a human-like figure, they though "this is a super powered guy". His being valled superman is like how the indians usedto be called that, born out of a misapprention. As the earlier european navigators who reached The Americas though they were in the indies and callad the natives as indians (aka, people from the Indies), so supermna is called that because they didn't knew he was from another world. Superman didn't advertized himself through his talk, but through his actions.
Justificating superman as human because he has the word MAN on his "name" is like saying that Batman is a bat because there's a Bat in his "name". It's silly. Superman is an alien because he came from Kryptonite. Easy as that. Shouldn't even be a discussion about this. Christ, people discuss the weirdest shit! Next people will try to convince me that water is not wet!

And he's also an humanoid alien as well. He's both. The two do not have to be self-contradictory. In Superman, they are co-existential.
And if anything, superman's problem, to me, and this is ebcause how's he has been presented all this decades, is that he's too human-like. Except his powers, there's nothing that makes him a son of krypton. I'd like to see a supermna movie where he is in fact a SON OF KRYPTON more then just in name only. You know what i mean?
What i don't understand is your severe reaction and rejection of the concept the superman is an alien. It's really weird. It's like xenophobia aplied to comic characters. "Oh no, superman can't be an alien, he can't have any alien element to him" Why the fuck should that be a problem? If anything,it makes him far more interesting then him just being a boring superpowered boy scout.

The creators of Superman were two young jewish kids. Jesus was not big intheir cultural background. Moses, however, is.
Many elements of superman's origins are directly taken from Moses' mythological earlier years. Moses was an hebrew child saved from a great tragedy by his parents putting him in a basket and send him downriver until it was rescured by the Pharao's daughter, who raised him as an egypcian. Superman was kryptonian child who was saved from a great tragedy by his parents who put him in a ship and sent it through space untilit reached Earth and took in by a earthling couple who raised him as an human (more exactly, like a midwestern american).
Moses became a savior figure to his people through active actions. Superman became a savior of mankind through active actions.
Jesus is a metaphyscial savior. Moses, if the legends are to go by, he was LITERALLY a savior of his own people, who released them from boundage, thanks to the help of his best buddy Mr Yahweh (he has friends in high places). Superman constantly saves mankind from the evil and tyrany of evildoers thanks to his massive amount of superpowers (making him in this case a mix of two hebrew heroes, Moses and Sansom) which the ocasional help from his kryptonian dad (in whatever form he's still around).
In fact, if you watch the earlier stories of superman, it's beyond obvious the earlier influences of his character were both Moses and Sansom. Even superman's weakness ot kryptonite mirror's Samson's vulnerability if his hair is cut short. A seamly banal threat that can bring down a demi-god.
If Superman has some ideitification to Jesus that's a new thing from the recent authors. The influences that shaped and made superman are quite clear and easy to see, and they are from the hebrew heroes from jesish culture of the two young jewish kids who created Superman so long ago.
What, you think you are talking to a complete ignoramus about the subject? Think again, dude. You think i can't reply to you? I'm not a total nerd-o geek about Superman, but i'm not ignorant either, nor i have my opinion of the character complerlty highjacked by some prefered comic generation of the character.

I'm well aware the creators had Moses in mind when they created him. They were jews after all. They would not have had Jesus in mind... but I'll guarantee you Jessus is who the world recognizes and unconsciously reacts to in Superman.
Show me any instance of explicit "Superman as Moses" reference in any comic or movie or show, any Superman original source you can find (not some writer saying it's so). I could easily link you to about ten examples of Christ-like imagery/evocation.

or (sorry) the Captain America route and set this back in the 1930's. Superman doesn't work walking around in 2011, because we're too post-modern about everything and it all sucks. Batman works because he's not only an uber-capitalist and martial arts expert but he's also an emotionally damaged nut. That's 21st century right there. Superman can't go Emo. He's truth, justice, and the American way; all things that went to crap about 60 years ago.

Superman as Alien = Martian Manhunter or Silver Surfer or ROM the space knight.
Superman was been raised and lives in a human enviroment.And the environment,as it is know,it plays a very important role in the development of the psyche,mind and personality of the child.
Yes Superman will sometimes feel lonely because he is different for the rest of the humans,he also understands how special is his heritage and origin and he might even adopt,because he wants it, some of the ways of his alien race's culture and lifestyle.
But that doesnt make him an alien.Deep down he remains a human,he thinks like a human,he acts like a human.
Worf from Star Trek is closer to what you are describing.He was raised by humans but his bond to his own people remained strong and unaffected.
The difference between hm and Superman is that his adopted parents didnt teach him only about the human life but they tried to teach him some ways of the Klingon life as well in order for Worf not to feel completely alienated.
But most importantly:Worf didnt lose his entire race,in fact he even had a brother.
So no Superman is not an alien.He is a humanized alien and that's it.

I'm not talking about Superman as an alien in the sense that he would sprout tentecles and shit form his body. I'm not advogating a radical change toward Superman, like tim Burton's misguided atempt. I'm jsut saying, i have never seen a Superman story where it has been played the angle that he's an alien and what that would imply and it's importance ot superman's personality.
Beside,s it would be a new angle to the character. Him as a human has been played out for 70 years already. Except turning him into a complete bastard, what else there is to say and do about superman?
I would welcome a new angle to superman in which the fact he's an alien from another world would not be shy away and hadnwaved but that it would be an actual part of his characterization and to the plot. But that's me.
It seems others are too obstinated and entused in seeing superman as merely a human. Others are obstinated and entused that superman has to be fully an american guy. So be it. That's their thing, whatever.
But to say that it's wrong, out of hand, that a new perspective on superman in which his alien nature would be more of a focus tothe story and his character, it's a bit irritating and shows a lack of imagination and a deep incrusciated dogmatic. It's weird.
What's the use of a superman movie which would be merely a repitition? Wasn't that the major complain that people had about Superman Returns, that it ws the same old, same old? What you guys really want? What do you really want?

Do you know what the word pedantic means? There's a line between being exact and being pedantic. You know what's pedantic? Beign so obtused in your idea that Syuperman has to be so human that you can't allow his alien nature tlo be played out. That's pedantism. Beware what you call others, brothers.

If i'm not too mistaken, they started to populate the superman universe with kryptonians one after the other. Zod and his croonies, supergirl, superboy, even fucking superdog, and god only knows what else! Made me wonder is the bloody planet had even blown out at all.
Superman can't even claim the title of last of his kind! He's not unique, he's just rare.

He is "Foreign." The two men who made him were jews and children of jewish immigrants. Superman is a metaphor about the Jewish immigrant experience, and the fantasy/wish fulfillment of two jewish men who wanted to feel accepted by their adopted country (and also feel strong and powerful).
Now, you could make a movie about Superman not being accepted because he is not "human", but I don't think Superman himself should be someone who acts or thinks of himself as an alien. That would defeat the purpose of Superman, as someone who WANTS to be part of America and accepted as an American (and human being).
BTW, the kryptonite thing has nothing to do with Samson. It was added by the radio program in 1943 so the actor Bud Collyer could take a break from the show. If you want to compare it to anything, I would say Balder and his weakness to mistletoe from Norse mythology.
(And if you really want to compare Superman to any Jewish folklore or Myths, you should bring up the Golem).

I've been reading your debate, and would ask, "what is humanity?". Humanity is used often as both an adjective and a species. As a species, you're absolutely correct-he's an alien. But, on the flip side, the thing about Superman that I love is that he represents the best of US-the shining example of what we could be-and I don't mean physically haha-even I'm not geek enough to think that o could throw a car across three counties. I'm talking about the compassion, the love, and the hope he has for his adopted home.

Jesus fucking christ, the stuff you people come up with to downplay or ignore the fact that superman IS FROM ANOTHER PLANET and that he WAS BORN TO A DIFFERENT SPIECES.
Really, this is mind-boggling! It's like saying a fish raised in an aquarium is not a fish because it didn't grew up in the sea!
Give me a break, will you guys?

"Alien" implies someone who doesn't share any human values or common human traits. Superman isn't Spock (or at least not Abrams' Spock) who doesn't share the same emotions and feelings as humans do; he very much obviously does share many human feelings and emotions and very much acts like a human (although a morally perfect one).
But if you are saying you want to emphasize Superman's feelings of being different and not feeling like he really belongs, than I can agree with you. One of the big influences on Superman was Tarzan, the story of someone raised by a different species. Tarzan thinks like an ape, acts like an ape and has a strong connection to his ape people, but as much as he wishes he is not an ape. No matter what he feels out of place and longs to find his place in the world.
Obviously Superman is NOT Tarzan (Superman looks human, Tarzan did not look like an ape; Superman can mate with Lois Lane and humans, Tarzan could not; Superman's alien nature made him stronger and more powerful than his adopted people; Tarzan's human physique makes him weaker, although his human intelligence and cunning make up for that) but I could see a movie that touches upon Superman feeling out of place and wondering if he truly belongs with his people.
Of course, if you follow the example of Tarzan, Tarzan rejects the world of humans and returns to the world of the jungle and apes because that is a world he identifies and connects with.

"the thing about Superman that I love is that he represents the best of US-the shining example of what we could be. I'm talking about the compassion, the love, and the hope he has for his adopted home"
What makes you think that's an exclusively american thing?
As for the humaniy aspect, that's exactly my point aboput a movie which would focus and not lay out the fact that Superman is an alien. If Superman'a slien nature is brought to the fire, you can have a theme into the movie about what makes one human. To bring to the fore Superman's alieness is a great dramatic oportunity for drama, for characterization, for plotting. without that, what do we get? The same ole boy scout shit, which, frankly, after all this years i'm getting a bit fed up.
The people who are so adamant to ignore and downplay Superman's alieness are showing a lack of imagination to the oportunities that could bring to the character.
I mean, what do they really want about a Superman movie, just an explosathron and that's it? Fuck that shit! Fuck that shit! That's not a movie, that's an overinflated fucking toy commercial! I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather have a movie, thank you very much. Preferably one that tells a story from an angle i haven't seen before about Superman.

Especially the Golden Age Superman: an indestructible champion of the weak and helpless who are oppressed, much like the Golem of Prague (who Shuster and Siegel would be familiar with).
Yes, Superman was influenced by Moses (the entire rocket ship for example) but he was also influenced by the legend of the Golem. If you don't believe me, just google "Superman + Golem."

My apogies-I meant US as in emphasizing us as a collective race-not the United States lol! But I definitely agree that it shouldn't be just action and explosions. But having him walk the Earth like David Carradine is pretty lame too. One thing that superman returns did well was dealing with his feelings of loneliness and isolation. It's a fine line though-too much to one side and he's a twilight vampire, too much to the other side and he's a Schwarzenegger character..

I just read on slashfilm( spoiler) that an extra on Man of Steel saud Jonathan Kent gets swept up in a tornado and Clark has to save him. I swear to the heathen gods-this is the most assini e thing I've ever heard! I know how thiswent down. Snyder:"you know what look badass! If Pa Kent gets carried off by a twister! Itllbe a new spin! Canon? Fuck CANON! Its my call and I know better than the creators of the character anyway! MOVIES!"

This seems more like a vague description of what the concept of Superman is rather than a plot synopsis. It doesn't give us any specifics like who the villain is. I've liked the production photos so far, so I'll wait until I see an actual trailer before passing judgement on it.

There's more of a Sansom in Superman then the golem itself, the way i see it. Remember that when Superman was originally created, he couldn't fly. He "able the jump over the tallest buildings" line didn't came from nothing. And Superman wasn't as strong as he later became. He had a lot of top speed limits to him as he first came out in the pages. He even looked like a circus strongman.
While i can understand your golem analogy, i think it's pushing it a bit. The Golem is more like the good robot, the good man-made creation that helps set injustices right. The Golem analogy aplies better to THE IRON MAN or ROBOCOP or ROBOTBOY, if you know what i mean. Superman, meanwhile, he's much more of a mix of Moses and Sansom. His references are more biblical.
That's not to say there isn't some golem influence to the development of superman, but it's far lesser then you would make it to be, i believe. The dude is a flying moses/sansom.

"But having him walk the Earth like David Carradine is pretty lame too"
That's hysterical! I almost spilled my yogurt all over the keyboard! Well done!
If you ask me, i think Superman Returns didn't dwelt enough with Superman's sense of isolation and loneliness. It should had been emphasized even more. You know why? Becasue to push the notion that Superman is a creature who does good without reward. His good deeds don't go rewarded. There's no reward for him, except the understanding that he's doing a good deed. While he triesto pass as a human for convineince sake, he is an alien. He does what he does because he's an alien. He helps mankind because he's an alien. He is superman because he's not human. And everytime he tries to be human, disaster strikes. And if that doesn't make for a loneley heart, then i don't know what can.
And if this is too depressing a notion, then we can know that kryptonians take loneliness very well. They can handle loneliness extremely well. Because they are aliens.
The way i see it, playing up Superman's alieness is a huge source of drama and good plotting. I's the only way to make an originaland fresh Superman story that doesn't feel like retread to things we have seen hundreds of times before.

... have an action scene in the middle of all the talky stuff during the Smallville years sequence. Fuckass hackboys like the Snyder fuck believe that movies can't have more then 5 minutes of dialogue without some action shit happening, or else their ADD riddled minds can't focus and endure the movie. Action shit has to happen every fuckign five minutes, regardless if it makes any sense to the plot or not.
How i despise this fucking hacks!